This past Monday I took 3 of my children to Carowinds for the day. I think the last time I was there was about 10 years ago. Things had changed a little, but overall it was the same. My goal was to keep our minds busy and to start making new memories with my children. Despite the heat we all had a great time. This got me to thinking about using our lives to make lasting memories.
Emma-Grace's physical presence is no longer in our home. However there will always be her memories through-out the house. She has fingerprints literally on most of the door facings and walls (marks that I am purposely not washing off, so if you come to my house you will just have to ignore them). Her pictures are still hanging on the walls and sitting on tables. But even if all of that disappeared we still would feel the essence of her here and will always have beautiful memories of her not only in our home but also in our hearts and minds.
There is a Bible verse in the book of Luke that talks about Mary, Jesus mother. It is a short verse, but holds so much meaning if you look at it closely. "But Mary treasured all of these things, pondering them in her heart." Luke 2:19. As a young mother of Jesus, Mary already knew that it is the little things that matter. I'm sure she was pondering all of the wonderful memories that were made on that Holy night. She probably could tell you even the smallest details. The smallest sounds, the smells, and the visions that she beheld that night were imprinted in her brain.
Often times we don't realize how the most insignificant moments can become very important times of our lives. Sometimes we do not recognize the significance of those events until they are in the past. Where we were? Who we were with? What we were doing? I wonder how different our lives would be without those sometimes simple moments. Or for that matter, how different the lives around us would be.
After Emma-Grace's passing I, like Mary, have pondered many things in my heart. Many of the memories I have, that most people would probably consider insignificant, are now wonderful treasures to me. Just a few things that she would do included: calling bananas- "tonanas", shake her bottom and say she was shaking her tail feathers (I bet you can guess who taught her that); run naked through the house after taking a bath and say "I'm all sparkly now"; and my all time favorite, she would say, "I am everybody's baby".
I rarely noticed some of her cute little antics at times, but now without them, it is very evident they are gone. It would be impossible for me to explain all the ways this precious little girl has affected our family. She has left an indelible mark on all of us, a scar from which we will never fully recover, but one which has left a beautiful place in each of our hearts. As Mary recognized in the Bible, it is the little things that often matter the most.
The world in which we live in demands blockbuster moments at times. Many people want bigger, better, louder moments of life. The world will always cry for the spectacle. In our lifetimes we will all have little and big events. However it may be that the most fragile or small times of our lives that are what someone may remember the most. Emma-Grace has left a beautiful mark upon my heart. I pray, as I live this life that God has blessed me with, that I am making my mark on those around me. Not just any mark, but the mark of unconditional love and compassion, the kind of love that Jesus has so freely given to me.
"But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart" Luke 2:19
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